People With High Speed Internet Access Are Losing Even More Sleep Than Other Technology Addicts

Sleep, or rather, the lack of it, is a fairly widespread problem across the world. It is affecting our cognitive abilities, increasing the number of traffic accidents, and even opening us up to chronic diseases. All because we¡¯re scrolling through our feeds in bed.

Researchers point out a number of factors responsible for widespread insomnia, including long working hours, stress, and relationships. But now, a new study says one other major reason we can¡¯t ever enough sleep is because of high-speed internet.

According to a study in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, high-speed internet access is costing people up to 25 minutes of sleep every night, compared to people without that kind of access. Basically, because of how much the Internet has broadened our world, we¡¯re so much more reluctant to give up on our laptops, tablets, and phones at bedtime. Just think about the last time you ended up sleeping late because you were binging Netflix, or playing a phone game, or scrolling through Instagram.

The problem is, that this tendency affects us even after we¡¯ve put whatever device away and tucked ourselves into bed. The light from smartphones and laptops subdue our body¡¯s melatonin production, which is what regulates our sleep cycles, not to mention that notifications can jar awake just as you¡¯re falling asleep.

However, this research team led by Professor Franceso Billari from the Milan¡¯s Bocconi University, wanted to know if the quality of our Internet connection affects this problem in any way. In a study of German citizens, they focused on their technology use and their sleep patterns.

Most of Eastern Germany is covered by incompatible cable technology, which has made it tougher to adopt broadband options there. As such, other parts of Germany actually reported higher average sleep loss rates than people in the eastern region. Apparently, high-speed Internet ¡°promotes excessive electronic media use,¡± which worsens the quantity and quality of a person¡¯s sleep. This was especially notable among the younger lot.

¡°High-speed Internet makes it very enticing to stay up later to play video games, surf the web and spend time online on social medias,¡± the researchers said. ¡°Given the growing awareness of the importance of sleep quantity and quality for our health and productivity, providing more information on the risks associated with technology use in the evening may promote healthier sleep and have non-negligible effects on individual welfare and well-being.¡±